10 Animals That Changed the World
10.
The Chimps That Repelled Greece By Killing A King
As World War I was coming to a close the thirst for conflict within some rulers had still
not quite been quenched.
To this end, in 1919 Greece began the occupation of Turkish soil and, in the following year,
committed themselves to a series of successful offensives, taking more land each time .
This is where things turn from bloody to strange – Greece was, at the time, under the rule
of King Alexander, who one day while strolling through a garden found himself assailed by
primates and bitten on the hand, a bite that would, weeks later, kill him through infection
and sepsis.
This marked the re-rise of his father, the formerly deposed Constantine I to power.
Constantine I then ushered in a great many political changes that led to Greece falling
out of favor with Britain and France – chiefly due to Constantine’s pro-German notions,
which are what saw him deposed in the first place.
This radical shift led to multiple military defeats – most notably the fire of Smyrna
that saw somewhere around 10,000-15,000 Greeks perish in its flames over the weeks it raged
– that saw Constantine losing the lands that his son had gained over the past couple
years – all because of two chimps who saw fit to nip at the late king’s hand.
9.
Belka And Strelka The Space Dogs
Much is often expected of man’s best friend – a stalwart and steady companion until
our later years, an ardent retriever of tennis balls or just a tail-wagging smile to brighten
someone’s day.
It’s safe to say that, despite any expectations, Russian dogs ‘Belka’ and ‘Strelka’
unquestionably smashed them.
What did this duo of hounds do?
They performed a 24 hour orbit around the planet Earth in a space-faring vessel and
safely returned . Their space-flight was even later broadcast on television, allowing viewers
to witness as Belka performed whimsical zero-G acrobatics completely unaware of the situation
and Strelka stood firmly on guard.
Obviously, as humorous as this all sounds, Belka and Strelka’s journey was instrumental
in giving the Russians more confidence to venture out into space once more.
Memorabilia of the pair was made jetting across a starry sky as their obliviously joyous doggy
faces beamed from inside the cockpit of a rocket ship – a well deserved respect paid
to two very good doggies.
8.
Tibbles, The Cat Who Finished Off An Entire Species
Few species have had such a profound hatred for another species that they actually wiped
them out – yet one certain incredibly devious cat’s hatred was so immense in it’s magnitude
he managed the job all by himself.
This is the story of Tibbles, the slayer of the Stephen Island Wren.
The Wren’s life was characterized by hardship – though originally found all throughout
the country of New Zealand, by 1894 invasive species forced it into seclusion on, you guessed
it, Stephen’s Island.
It was this year that a new lighthouse keeper moved to the island along with the antagonist
of our story, his cat, Tibbles.
Tibbles began his predation of the Wren, bringing them back to his owner – who actually sent
them back to Britain for survey, where they were declared a new species – alas, it was
too late for these nocturnal, flightless birds, who’s days had already been numbered.
Tibbles literally hunted into extinction the sparse remains of this once country-spanning
species – at least it probably kept him from clawing the rug for a while.
7.
Cairo, The Dog Who Helped Bring Down A Dictator
The use of hounds in the military has become more-and-more common practice – with a wide
array of roles from sniffing and detecting bombs and various other substances to actual
combat-oriented fieldwork, man’s best friend is earning his place at Man’s side on the
battlefield.
None more-so than Cairo – a Belgian Malinois who aided in the operation to take down Osama
Bin Laden.
Cairo’s role in the mission was to use his acute sense of smell to sniff around for any
bombs or booby traps that could pose a threat or even any fake walls, doors or floors that
could house Bin Laden.
Despite complications in the missions – and that’s a fairly light way of putting it,
considering a helicopter crashed – Cairo remained ardent in the role he was given and
proved a vital part of the mission, helping to secure the perimeter of the house as his
bipedal comrades inside performed their given task.
If anyone deserves a treat or a thorough belly rub, it’s Cairo.
6.
Balto, The Husky That Saved A Town
Only once in recorded history has a dog saved not one, not two, but an entire town’s population
worth of people.
That one time was in 1925, when Balto – his exploits on this day since commemorated in
film – guided a musher and a team of dogs through a harsh blizzard in order to deliver
the necessary antitoxins to prevent a deadly outbreak of diptheria.
Needing to take these measures, as the only aircraft that could deliver the supplies had
recently – in a stroke of bad luck and tremendously poor timing – been dismantled for the Winter,
mushers set out in the face of temperatures more than 40 degrees below and winds strong
enough to blow their sleds over.
Six days after their departure Gunner Kassan on a sled lead by the heroic hound drove into
the town of Nome and gave them the medicine they so desperately needed , ensuring the
safety of the townsfolk and engraving Balto into the hearts of the world – who had been
swept away by the dramatic tale unfolding in the North.
5.
Jim, The Horse Who Shaped Medical History
Though today it’s nowhere near as threatening today, back in the late 19th and early 20th
Century Diphtheria was a massively feared illness with no known counter.
That was, until, a certain German Scientist by the name of Emil von Behring discovered
an antitoxin that acted against Diphtheria present in the blood of some animals that
he used to produce a serum – amongst these miraculous disease-curing animals were horses.
Jim was one of these horses used to produce a serum.
Though this story isn’t all sweetness and the curing of deadly diseases – it takes
a decidedly tragic turn.
In 1901 a group of children with diphtheria were being treated using von Behring’s method
when they suddenly died of tetanus, shortly afterwards Jim – as we know, used to produce
diphtheria medicine – died of tetanus.
It was this unfortunate episode and the subsequent discovery of the contaminated batch of diphtheria
serum that lead to the Biologics Control Act of 1902 – an act that oversees vaccine safety
in general and assures nothing like this happens again.
4.
Cher Ami, The Carrier Pidgeon That Saved A Battalion
Not exactly renowned as the most noble of creatures anymore, you may be taken aback
to learn the heroic legacy that pigeons carry thanks to many brave avian that immeasurably
aided allied forces during – none more-so than Cher Ami.
During World War II Cher Ami delivered 12 important letters in the American sector at
Verdun, France, but his landmark and most notable exploit was also his final and most
daring delivery.
Cher Ami, hit by enemy fire both in the breast and enough so to take one of his legs still
managed to return to his loft and deliver a message – that was dangling from the ligaments
of his lost leg – that informed American forces of a battalion stranded behind enemy
lines and separated from their allies.
A few short hours after the delivery of this message Cher Ami’s valiant effort had saved
the lives of the 194 survivors of the battalion as they were brought back to safety behind
American lines.
The next time you’re forced to scrape an unmentioned, hardened white substance off
your windshield, cast a thought to Cher Ami.
3.
Dolly The Sheep, The World’s First Cloned Animal
One of the most famous animals in human history and one that helped shaped science, acting
as a culmination of years of work.
Though Dolly wasn’t actually, as many believe, the first ever cloned animal – there had
actually been numerous before her such as frogs, mice and cows – Dolly was the first
mammal to be fully and successfuly cloned using an adult cell.
Dolly’s cloning made news around the world as the huge scientific breakthrough it was.
Fitting, considering the difficulty the Roslin Institute had in cloning dolly – the process
of cloning being much more different from an adult cell than an embryonic one, and so
Dolly was actually the only success out of 277 attempts.
Dolly’s successful cloning helped scientists learn much more about the process through
studying her – such as the dismissal of the notion that cloned animals would age prematurely
and die.
Thanks to Dolly, cloning techniques were vastly improved and it became much easier to produce
cloned animals using adult embryos.
2.
David Greybeard, The Chimpanzee That Used Tools
In 1960 the firm belief was held that Man was the sole animal with the thought processes
that allowed us to adapt to our environment and use tools.
This notion was blown sky-high when a young British researcher, Jane Goodall came upon
a then-nameless chimpanzee in a remote African rain-forest.
Jane Goodall witnessed this chimp not only using, but making tools as well.
This may not seem like such a staggering thing anymore but in 1960 it was a world in which
humans were separated from animals and defined by their ability as the only walking the planet
to be able to craft and use tools appropriate for the situation, and so this subtle observation
was a landmark discovery that dismantled this notion.
This chimpanzee would later come to be named – thanks to the distinguished white tuft
on his chin – David Greybeard.
who further opened up her mind to what chimps were capable of through further observations
and how close to us they really were – from the forming of deep mother-son bonds to going
through adolescence and even basic underhanded political duplicity.
1.
Nikolas Tesla’s Life’s Work Ended By A Pigeon
Nikolas Tesla is renowned for a great many things – historic inventions that each shaped
the world in their own unique way, a dashing mustache, but less than these a profound love
of pigeons.
It was, in fact, the latter of these three that finally thwarted the former of them.
In 1922 Tesla’s favorite pigeon flew into his room – described as a beautiful, pure
white bird with light grey tips on its wings – Tesla felt the bird was trying to communicate
something to him, that it was dying.
The grand claim is then made by Tesla that a light more intense and greater than any
lamp in his laboratory flashed from this pigeon’s eyes before it died.
Though we may never know if this pigeon actually performed this angelic feat before Tesla’s
very eyes, Tesla all the same claimed that at this time he felt that a light went out
in his life and his life’s work – that of one of the greatest inventors mankind has
ever known – was done.
Brought to an end by the death of a pigeon.